The Letters of Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford — Volume 3 eBook

Illuminated MSS., unless they have portraits of particular
persons, I do not deal in; the extent of my collecting
is already full asgreat as I can afford. I am
not the less obliged to you, Sir, for thinking Of
me. Were my fortune larger, I should go deeper
into printing, and having engraved curious MSS. and
drawings; as I cannot, I comfort myself with reflecting
on the mortifications I avoid, by the little regard
shown by the world to those sort of things.
The sums laid out on books one should, at first sight,
think an indication of encouragement to letters; but
booksellers only are encouraged, not books. Bodies
of sciences, that is, compilations and mangled abstracts,
are the only saleable commodities. Would you
believe, what I know is fact, that Dr. Hill(121) earned
fifteen guineas a-week by working for wholesale dealers:
he was at once employed on six voluminous works of
Botany, Husbandry, etc. published weekly.
I am sorry to say, this journeyman is one of the
first men preferred in the new reign: he is made
gardener of Kensington, a place worth two thousand
pounds a-year.(122) The King and lord Bute have certainly
both of them great propensity to the arts; but Dr.
Hill, though undoubtedly not deficient in parts, has
as little claim to favour in this reign, as Gideon,
the stock-jobber, in the last; both engrossers without
merit. Building, I am told, is the King’s
favourite study; I hope our architects will not be
taken from the erectors of turnpikes.

(121) Dr. Hill’s were among the first works
in which scientific knowledge was put in a popular
shape, by the system of number publishing. The
Doctor’s performances in this way are not discreditable,
and are still useful as works of reference.-C.

(122) This was an exaggeration of the emoluments of
a place, which, after all was not improperly bestowed
on a person of his pursuits and merits.-C.

I am glad you are coming, and now the time is over,
that you are coming so late, as I like to have you
here in the spring. You will find no great novelty
in the new reign. Lord Denbigh(123) is made
master of the harriers, with two thousand a-year.
Lord Temple asked it, and Newcastle and Hardwicke
gave into it for fear of Denbigh’s brutality
in the House of Lords. Does this differ from
the style of George the Second?

The King designs to have a new motto; he will not
have a French one; so the Pretender may enjoy Dieu
et mon droit in quiet.

Princess Amelia is already sick of being familiar:
she has been at Northumberland-house, but goes to
nobody more. That party was larger, but still
more formal than the rest, though the Duke of York
had invited himself and his commerce-table. I
played with Madam and we were mighty well together;
so well, that two nights afterwards she commended
me to Mr. Conway and Mr. Fox, but calling me that
Mr. Walpole, they did not guess who she meant.
For my part, I thought it very well, that when I played
with her, she did not call me that gentleman.
As she went away, she thanked my Lady Northumberland,
like a parson’s wife, for all her civilities.